Making turncocks



Oct. 1 6, 1945.

J. C. FULLER MAKING TuRNcOcKs Filed Jan. 3, 1941 III Patented Oct. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE assume 6 Claims.

alignment of the water-ways will nevertheless be exceedingly accurate. This I accomplish by molding the casing directly about. the rotary member of the valve and thereafter forming water-ways through the so assembled casing and member.

My invention will be well understood by refer- ,ence to the following description taken in concock constructed in a manner exemplifying my invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are central-vertical sections illustrating various stages in the manufacture of the cock shown in Fig. 1; g

Fig, 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing another type of valve;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a plug of somewhat different construction; and

.Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a partially completed valve or cock embodying the plug showninFig. 5.

In Fig. 1 I have shown. a valve embodying a casing or body 8, here shown as connected by a union [0 with a pipe I! and having a. fluid passage or water-way I4 therethrough which is intersected by the rotary plu l6 having an opening l8 which in one position of rotation aligns with the passage It to permit the .flow of fluid.

nection with the accompanying drawing, where-v in:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through a The valve may be of any suitable exteriorformation and may be completed by additional parts, if desired, but in-the drawing it has been shown as a generally straight member having a simple straight passageway therethrough,

Figs. 2 and 3 show steps in the manufacture of the valve shown in Fig. 1. Referring to Fig. 2,

I form a blank plug it, conveniently of metal, by any suitable operation or series of operations producing a body which generally, except for such portions as, for instance, the handle 20, which will be exterior to the body in the completed valve. is in the form of a solid of revolution. Thus in the example shown the main body is frusto-conical with a cylindrical extension 22 from the smaller base and a cylindrical stem 24 to which the lever handle 20 is connected. The

parts 22 and 24 serve somewhat in the manner of trunnions in the completed valve, as is clear from Fig. 1. In the particular modification i1- lustrated, annular grOOVeS 28 are provided near the bases of the frusto-conical body with which may be assembled gaskets 28 of any suitable material, such, for example, as the well known asbestos and graphite compositions or a 'composition of asbestos fibers and synthetic resin. I have referred to the plug as ShOWn in Fig. 2 as a blank because it has no water-way or opening l8 therethrough, but at this stage has an unbroken wall in the form of a surface of revolution. In Fig. 2 the plug is illustrated in a mold 30 having a cavity therein corresponding to the casing for the plug in the valve to be formed and .in the example illustrated it is positioned within the core space in the mold by means of the extension 22 and the stem 24. In the figure I have.

also shown the mold as provided with cores 32 -corresponding. in position to the water-way H in the completed valve butnot, however, extending to the plug.

The body of the valve is molded directly about the plug and when removed from the mold 30 has the form shownin Fig. 3 with the body 8 pro- 'vided with an imperforate wall exactly conforming to and fitting the blank plug i6. It will be understood that the plug is suitably treated, as will be understood in the art, to prevent adherence of the molded body thereto and to leave the same free for rotation within the integrally formed body which encloses the same as the- I result of the molding operation.

I use the word mold herein to include both the significance sometimes also expressed by the word founding," that is, the casting of molten metal, for instance, by the process of die-casting, and also other operations usually or properly called molding, such a shaping from plastic material thereafter subjected to some treatment such as vulcanizing to set the same; the sintering together of powders-under pressure and heat as openings 34 will be formed in the body and the drilled hole will connect these openings which or may turn with the plug or may be held gripped in the molded body.

The method of manufacture will be seen to be very simple, yet a perfect fit is obtained without the necessity of accurate fitting or or grinding together of the parts and the necessary passages in the body and valve are formed by a single I piercing operation in accurate alignment.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified form of value with a plug [6a formed with a stem 24a and handle 20a but with no extension from the lower end of the plug and having a casing 8a,

molded thereabout. The water-way may be formed in the valve shown to define an angle, the vertex of which is in the plug. A passage 38 may be pierced through the casing and into the plug axially of the latter, as indicated by dotted lines, and may meet an opening Ha, herein shown as an extension of a cored opening 34a in the body, which latter corresponds to the opening 34 in Fig. 3 formed by the core 32 in Fig. 2. If the opening Ha terminates within the plug, a simple turncock will be provided, but if it is extended all the way through the plug, as is also indicated in the drawing, the valve will open in two positions in the revolution of the plug. If passage 38 were joined to a passage Ha within the body of, the plug and the latter were then turned and the plug and born? again pierced by an opening extending entirely through the body to'the left in the figure, a three-way cock would be provided.

In Fig. I have shown a plug body Nib having a covering 40 applied thereabout prior to the molding operation. Such a covering 40 might, for example, be anti-friction material such as a graphitic composition or a yieldable material such, for example, as a suitable compound of fiber and synthetic resin adapted to form a packing. The plug, as shown in Fig. 5, being suitably treated to prevent adherence of the moldable material thereto, is positioned in a mold as before and a body 8b molded thereabout, as shown in Fig. 6, which corresponds to Fig. 3 and the valve is completed, as already explained, by piercing the opening through the body and. through the plug together with itsinvestment 40. The resultant plug is completely packed immediately adjacent to the ports, around the stem 24a and throughout its body.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A method of making a turncock which includes a casing and a plug rotatable therein, which method comprises providing a plug, a portion at least of which is a solid of revolution havportion in nicely fltting but non-adherent relation and piercing through the casing and directly into and through the blank wall of the therewith assembled plug to provide a fluid passage controllable by relative rotation of the plug and casing.

2. A method of making a turncock which in cludes a casing and a plug rotatable therein, which method comprises providing a plug, a portion at least of which is a solid of revolution having a blank wall, assembling one or more gaskets on said portion, molding a plug casing about said portion and the gaskets in nicely fitting but nonadherent relation to the former and piercing through the casing and directly into and through the blank wall of the therewith assembled plug at a location removed from the gaskets to provide a fluid passageway controllable by relative rotation of the plug and casing.

3. A method of making a turncock which includes a casing and a plug rotatable therein, which method comprises providing a plug, a portion at least of which is a solid of revolution having a blank wall, providing said portion with a nicely fitting investing covering layer of yieldable material of substantial thickness, molding a plug casing about said portion and covering layer in nicely fitting relation thereto, the layer being in non-adherent relation to one of the parts and piercing through the casing and directly into and through the blank of the therewith assembled covered plug to provide a fluid passageway controllable by relative rotation of the plug and casing.

4. A method of making a turncock which includes a casing and a plug rotatable therein, which method comprises providing a plug, a portion at least of which is a solid of revolution having a blank wall, covering at least a portion thereof with a covering layer of anti-friction material of substantial thickness, molding a plug casing about said portion and covering layer in nice ly fitting relation thereto, the layer being in nonadherent relation to one of the parts and piercing through the casing and directly into and through the blank of the therewith assembled covered plug to provide a fluid passageway controllable by relative rotation of the plug and cas- 5. A method of making a rotary valve which comprises producing united and relatively rotatable inner and outer parts having opposed blank walls corresponding to a solid of revolution by preforming one of the elements and molding the other in direct contact with but in non-adherent relation to the first and by then piercing the 

